Alma record. (Alma, Mich.) 1878-1928, 1887-10-21

more profitable for feeding; but some
times hotel keepers and horse boarding
stable Keepers purposely buy the light
weight They purchase by weight and
deal out oats to patrons horse by
measure. 1t is, therefore their gain
when they buy oats weighing loss than
thirty-two pounds per bushol. and
their loss when extra heavy oats are
fed. But tho horse feeder up to this
trick is not the man TO lose in any
event. IL the oats are heavy ho will
take his profit in stinting the measure.
The under-fed horse only tells tales
when his condition shows how he has
been imposed upon.
LENGTHENING THE NOON REST.
Resting one or two hours longer ut
noon in hot weather is possibly the
best method for farmers to lessen their
hours of labor 1t is not always prac.
ticable in haying or harvesting. when
sunshine is an important factor in
making work progress, but at other
times. especially when working with
teams, a good long incoming is not an
impediment but rather II help. Not
only should the team rest while eating
at noon, but its harness should be re-
morved and the animals placed in
darkened stalls where flies will not
annoy them. A. this time the farmer
himself may indulge in little reading.
He VIII be less tired and tagged out
than at night, and the change from
thought 10 mutual labor aud rice cerSa
will vigorato both body and mind.
There are no evenings for farmers
until quite late in the Fall. aud the
necessary reading to keep mp with the
news of the day can be better done at
noon than at any other time in the day.
GARDENING By TIE BARREL.
The agricultural editor Of the P4i'a-
dolphin Record mentions a Jerseyman'
pract ice which enables him with very
little extra outlay to secure better re-
suits, especially in season OF drought,
than from three times As much space
devoted to the vegetable growing in the
old way. lie procures old soap-boXeS,
flour barrels, kegs, or anything that
will hold earth or manure. and il the
boxes or barrels be somewhat rickety,
80 much The better. In planting mel
ons, cucum berS tomatoes, squashes, or
lima beams he places box on the
middle Of the hll, which should be six
feet across. fiji t half full of fresh ma
nuye, and over the manure a half peck
Of mixture of wood ashes and super
phosphate is placed. The seeds OF the
melons are planted around the box.
four plants being allowed to the hill.
the distance Of the seeds from the box
being about lwo feet, as too close con-
tact with the box is not desirable.
When the young plants are up soap
suds are poured over the contents OF
the box In few week, the roots OF
the plants Will have reached the box
and they are then freely and literally
supplied with all the moisture and liq-
ud manure they may need, as water is
poured in the box as often rs may be
desired In dry weather a bucket of
water in the box causes the matter in
the manure to leach out, and it soaks
into the ground around the box. where
the plants appropriate it.
DAT srBAw FOR STOCK
In long series of exper ments con-
Germ no the feeding value of oat straw,
Prof. Sanborn of Missouri says that
this straw is mainly valuable as heat
and fat producer. 1t does not produce
much fat, because cattle will not eat
enough of it. 1t contains but IA per
cent. of digestible albumenoids or
flesh formers. and forty per cent of
dgestble carbohydrates, or fat form
ers. Hence to use it with advantage
and get the full benefit of it. it must be
fed with food of directly the opposite
kind. such as oil meal or cotton see
meal. The professor found that thirty
ty-four pounds of oat straw and SIX
pounds Of cotton-seed meal gave the
same results as fifty pounds of hay. be-
cause cotton-seed meal has 1872 per
ant. of albumenoids and but 17.6 per
cent, OF carbohy drates. thus forming.
With straw. a well-balanced ration.
OIL meal contains 276 per cent. OF
albumenoidS and twcnty-seven per
'"nt. of carbohydrates, so that a pound
more OF oil meal than cotton-seed meal
should be fed. The cost of this feed as
compared with hay at g. ton. or one
fourth of cent per pound, is an inn
oortant question. 1t is said to take
twenty-five pounds of it to make steer
ain pound a day. or ct cents daily
o keep him in good growing condi-
{ on. But if by feeding four pounds of
oil meal, worth 1t cents per pound.
the same gain can DO made, and by
feeding a proportionately less amour:
we can keep up the weight, It will he'll
out short crop of hay. But to the
farmer wbn hoa not and nap not va,